Kiku Maeda
Kiku Maeda (前田きく, Maeda Kiku) is the current lieutenant of the 9th Division under Captain Hana Ryusaki, having been recently promoted from 3rd Seat once Hana was promoted from her previous position as lieutenant. Still adjusting to the new responsibilities of being a lieutenant, Kiku is much more interested in leisure activities and goofing off, which can conflict with her captain's stern demeanor. She currently resides in the Bleach: War of Souls universe. Appearance Kiku is known to be an exceptionally beautiful shinigami known to flaunt her feminine features without shame or embarrassment. With long jet black hair, usually kept straight or tied off in battle, and bright hazel eyes, its hard to not turn your head when she walks by. Her hair hangs over her brow and is cut in a straight line above her eyes, while the back flows freely behind her. Kiku is also known to have soft skin, slightly tanned, and has been noted as not needing makeup to accentuate her beauty. For a woman, she's known to be quite tall, able to match most of the male officers in height, or at the very least remain close to their eye level. She's known to have a slender, yet curvaceous figure, with large breasts like her captain. She's known to flaunt this feature by wearing her shinigami robes loosely open at the top, exposing an average amount of cleavage. Using this visual as a distraction during training at times. Besides her top, she wears her lieutenant's uniform similar to everyone else, with her badge wrapped around her left arm. Personality Kiku's personality is a stark contrast to that of her captain's. She's playful, free-spirited, easy going and tends to be viewed as a slacker by her captain. This is because she's yet to adjust to the new role of being a lieutenant and would much rather be doing more fun activities, such as drinking with her comrades. When speaking to others, she maintains a more casual form of speech, rarely using honorifics unless in the presence of other captains. She's shown to greatly dislike paperwork or any other more formal duties that require sitting behind a desk, and grows increasingly bored in doing them. While she understands what her duties mean and how important they are, she can't help but become frustrated and annoyed the longer she remains indoors. To match her free-spirited nature, Kiku prefers to be outside most of the time, either strolling throughout Seireitei or drinking with her friends. In fact, her love of drinking makes her a popular person within the squads and is constantly invited out. While most guys tease her about her drinking, she can easily outdrink anyone, often winning bets placed. Her relationship with her captain can often appear rocky, mainly due to their conflicting personalities. Hana sometimes scolds her, with the two getting into heated conversations about her conduct. Nevertheless, Kiku is an experienced combatant with a brilliant strategic mind evident by her ability to use her Zanpakutō's special ability. Reasons that allowed her to become lieutenant in the first place. If it weren't for lazy nature, Hana has stated that Kiku has tremendous hidden potential if she only applied herself. Because of her personality and beauty, Kiku often has men vying for attention, such as with 13th Division Lieutenant Sōkaku Date, who personally tries to woo her whenever possible. He often competes with 8th Division Lieutenant Eiji Maruyama for her affection. Though Kiku seems to be more charmed with Eiji than any other and the two have seemingly formed a secret relationship which they keep primarily hidden from others. She shows concern towards him, stating that he takes things too seriously and wishes that he could see the important moments in life, referencing their often limited time together. History Coming Soon. Plot *Whispers of War *Something Wicked This Way Comes *Warnings On The Way Powers & Abilities Zanjutsu Expert: While laid back and conveying a slacker mentality, Kiku is still considered an expert swordswoman for her rank. She's been noted training with Eiji on numerous occassions, with her captain accelerating her studies through increased sparring sessions. A fact that has caused some friction between the two. Kiku can also adopt two different stances during combat given the size and shape of her Zanpakutō. While she's trained in normal grip, one-handed and two-handed fighting, Kiku has shown a particular fondness for reverse grip fighting, as well. While not as gifted as some of the other lieutenants, Kiku is still a proficient combatant who can hold her own in a fight. To help combat her weaknesses, Kiku often uses her looks and figure as a means of distraction to gain an advantage. Hakuda Expert: Because her Zanpakutō's release causes her to lose her blade, Kiku had to train herself in hand-to-hand combat so that she could advantage of its unsealed form. Her style of fighting focuses on sweeping claw movements or stabbing motions. She's not as gifted in this form of combat as she would like to be and is still training to enhance those abilities. Kidō Expert: '''Still a decent melee combatant, Kiku excels more in the art of casting Kidō, being naturally gifted in this area despite her lazy nature. During combat, she relies more her Kidō prowess to overwhelm her targets and is known to be able to cast both Bakudō and Hadō effectively. As a lieutenant, she can identify the more advanced spells, such as the higher tier, but doesn't possess the necessary power to execute them herself. Instead, she can wield lower to mid level spells without incantation, and still deliver them with power and skill. '''Expert Tactician: '''Kiku's defining quality is her tactical mind. One wouldn't assume that she's exceptionally brilliant when it comes to devising tactics, either to make up for her physical weaknesses or guard her comrades from danger. Given the nature of her Zanpakutō's special ability, Kiku often leads her opponents and manipulates their actions to trap them within its web. She'll feign frailty and weakness, often fleeing from the battle to lead them into its web and setting the trap before they're aware of her true intentions. '''High Spiritual Pressure: '''As a lieutenant, Kiku possesses above average spiritual power that places her in a rank just below a captain. This means, while not being able to compete with a captain level opponent, she still has enough power to be comparable to other lieutenants and stand in the presence of captains without being smothered by their own spiritual pressure. Also, her higher power allows her to cast stronger spells than most of the lower ranked officers. Zanpakutō '''Jorōgumo (ジョロウグモ, Silk Spider) Kiku's Zanpakutō appears as an ordinary wakizashi with a handle wrapped in green cloth and a web shaped silver crossguard. She carries Jorōgumo behind her, tucked into sash so it remains horizontal to the floor. *'Shikai: '''Its release command is known as '"Spin your web"' and comes with a drastic change to its appearance and usage. During its initial release, her entire weapon will form into thousands of thin webbing and completely unravel. This webbing will then surround her hands, creating a coccoon, and when its change has completed, Kiku will pull her hands apart and reveal its new form. Jorōgumo now appears as golden gauntlets around her wrists and forearms with wire extending from slot at the top of them, through golden rings around each finger and attach to golden claws on each fingertip. Hidden with the gauntlets are large spindles that house the wire. **'Shikai Special Ability:' Jorōgumo's true power comes from its ability to send the claws and extend the wire to incredible lengths through the spindle located in the gauntlets. The claws can then be used to attach itself to a surface and allow her to either pull objects to her or pull herself towards them at increased speed. She's shown versatility with this effect by using this ability as a means of defense or transportation. If she's too weak to avoid an attack through her own power, she can pull herself out of harm's way. Or use more creative means by pulling objects into the paths of attacks to intercept them. The second ability of Jorōgumo comes from her ability to manipulate the direction of the claws and wires once they been ejected from her hands. Kiku has shown tremendous skill in the ability to position these wires in a way to capture her opponents or defeat them. The claws themselves are composed of several barbs that these wires connect to. Once they are released, the claws unravel into dozens of wires that she can command by gesturing with her fingers and the rings on them. With simple flicks of her wrists or folding her fingers, she can move the wires throughout an area and able to weave them into intricate patterns, such as webs, to capture targets or even block attacks. Because the wires are incredible thin, they can easily blend into their surroundings, catching her opponents off guard and often being tripped and entangled in them. The only method of discerning their appearance is for a person to stand still and if light shines off their surface. ***'Razor Wire:''' Jorōgumo possesses a lethal ability that comes from Kiku saturating the wires with her own spiritual power, increasing their durability and strength to the point that she can slice through steel like a hot knife through butter. Since the wires themselves cannot be seen easily, she's been able to decapitate her opponents with a single well placed wire. Also, because she can weave the wires and blend them into her surroundings, she's been able to completely entangle a single targets, holding them in place with her hands. And with a simple pull of the wires, they will simultaneously cut into her target until they are rended into pieces, leaving behind a bloody pile of parts.